While the first face-to-face WIPR meeting in June 2009 in Dakar, Senegal, had included only working group members, the second face-to-face meeting included working group members and representatives of eight organisations, which had been selected as project partners. In late 2009, in response to a call for proposals, the proposals of these eight organisations had selected through a rigorous review process, out of a total of sixteen proposals received. A second face-to-face workshop was thus organised to build the capacity of these partners to support the implementation of their projects.

Workshop objectives

The workshop had two objectives:

Building capacity for communication and advocacy among partners on strategies to counter 'cultural' disempowerment – specifically on sharing strategies for addressing women’s customary rights in relation to land

Training workshop on the use of international human rights standards in documenting and addressing cases of violations justified in the name of ‘culture,' and related issues – specifically on the use of progressive religious interpretations for women’s inheritance rights

Desired Outcomes

Immediate

Participants acquire:

Knowledge of a diversity of strategies to address women’s customary rights in relation to land and their past or likely effectiveness in different contexts

Knowledge of progressive religious interpretations for women’s inheritance rights, where they have been used, and how they resonate with international and regional human rights standards

Short-term

Participants work with WIPR partners and projects to address women’s land and property rights using strategies which counter the use of ‘culture’ (including religion) against women’s rights and empower women to reclaim and redefine cultural elements.

Mid to long term

Successful strategies to enhance women’s appropriation of ‘culture” and against the mobilisation of conservative cultural elements in women’s access to inheritance and property rights.